Friday, March 27, 2009
Let me take this time to dole out congratulations not only to the Jayhawks, but to the Memphis Tigers as well. The Tigers, the team that KU defeated to earn the national championship last season, lost many players to the NBA just like the Jayhawks. The Tigers are very similar to the Jayhawks and that’s why both teams’ runs in the tournament so far have been extremely impressive.
Memphis and Kansas both lost numerous starters from last year’s teams. The Tigers lost three while the Jayhawks lost all of their starters. Both entered the season with lower expectations than during the previous year, even with star recruits such as Tyreke Evans for Memphis and Marcus and Markieff Morris for Kansas.
At the beginning of the season these lower expectations held strong for a time. Both Kansas and Memphis exited the top 25 rankings at nearly the same time. Kansas was out in week five and Memphis followed in week six, but both teams eventually made it back into the rankings.
That really speaks to what coaches Bill Self and John Calipari have been able to do with these teams. They’ve each taken a group of less-experienced players and gotten them right back to the same high level of competition that got them into the national championship game last year. It’s no wonder both coaches are highly respected in their profession. You can’t help but notice the phenomenal job both coaches have done this season, not to mention Calipari’s recruiting sweepstakes or Self’s already numerous coaching awards.
Memphis even parallels Kansas in terms of its basketball history. Memphis has been dominant recently, winning the last four Conference USA tournaments, similar to Kansas’ three straight conference tournament championships from 2006-2008. Kansas has the most tournament championships of any Big 12 school and Memphis is tied for the most wins with Cincinnati, a team no longer in the conference.
Calipari brought prominence to the Memphis basketball program, while Self brought another national championship to Kansas. Calipari hasn’t gotten there yet, but his time is looming down the road, especially with the top recruiting class for the 2009-2010 season, which includes the second and third overall recruits in the nation, DeMarcus Cousins and Xavier Henry.
Jayhawks fans will obviously applaud the efforts of Self and his ability to hold this Jayhawk team together with so many inexperienced players, but Jayhawk fans should also applaud the effort of the Memphis Tigers, who, to a lesser extent, were able to bounce back from similar adversity to make another run in the NCAA tournament. There are similarities between the two teams that fans should be able to respect leading to a mutual appreciation of the two teams. Besides, it’s not like any true Jayhawk fan could root for Missouri to win anyways.
— — Edited by Justin Leverett
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Comments
Breckunitch: Memphis Tigers merit respect
I disagree. Memphis deserves the same amount of respect you would give an NBA player gleefully dominating a group of 7th graders. Let's look at their situation.
They haven't lost a conference game in about three years. Isn't that a a bit alarming? Have you ever seen dominance like that? In any of the major conferences, the clear favorites still have off-nights and lose a conference game here and there. I would call this a clear red flag that something is wrong - their competition just isn't up to snuff.
Don't believe me? Look up how conference USA stacks up in post season representation. #1 Memphis is a 2 seed obviously. #2 Tulsa is a 4 seed in the NIT and #3 UAB is a 7 seed in the NIT. Contrast that with the Big 12 where six teams made the tournament, three of which are 3 seeds or better.
Non-conference schedule? Nothing impressive with 1-2 against the Big East and a loss to Xavier.
How about the Conference USA tournament where the top two teams faced off in an epic battle to ... oh wait Memphis dominated Tulsa 64-39.
Now, I'm not trying to insult the other teams in Conference USA. But I am saying it's ridiculous that Memphis still hangs around there. In 2005 UC, Louisville, Marquette, and a few others switched conferences to play some real competition while Memphis stayed behind. Maybe it's time for them to do the same.
The real problem I have with Memphis is that by sticking around in C-USA they deprive one of the true mid-major schools from having a chance at the tournament. To me, one of the greatest things about the system is that smaller, lesser-known schools still have a shot, albeit a small one, to at least get INTO the tournament. Not in C-USA though. Not with big bully Memphis crushing the weaker competition.
The bottom line is this: as long as Memphis sticks around in some third rate conference, cruising to perfect records and depriving smaller schools of any chance, they don't deserve one iota of respect. Time to move up and play with the big boys, Tigers. Wait they tried that last night and got humiliated. Maybe we can make special arrangements for them to participate in the division 3 championships instead.
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